Chirac sets out vision of Europe in 2004

By Toby Helm in Berlin

12:00AM BST 28 Jun 2000

THAT Jacques Chirac, the French President, chose to announce his new vision of Europe in the Bundestag said it all.

Greeting him outside the parliament building in Berlin the French, German and European Union flags flapped together in the wind yesterday. The intended message was that the two nations were as one over Europe.

For months, rumour has had it that Paris and Berlin no longer see eye to eye on the future direction the EU should take and that the Franco-German motor that drove integration forward under Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterrand had spluttered to a halt. M Chirac's trip to Berlin, the first state visit to Germany by a French head of state for 13 years, will have scotched much of that.

From his very presence in the Bundestag three days before he launches his country's EU presidency, and more so from the content of his speech, it was clear that France and Germany still rule - and rule together - in Europe. At the heart of M Chirac's address were two main ideas for taking Europe forward in the era after monetary union. Both have been floated recently by senior German politicians.

The first was that "pioneer groups" of EU nations should be allowed to forge ahead with integration without being held up by the vetoes of more reluctant partners such as Britain. The problems the EU had in agreeing a tax on offshore savings - a plan that was blocked by Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, to protect the interests of the City of London - have weighed heavy on Franco-German minds.

M Chirac said: "Countries that want to go further with integration on a voluntary basis and on precise projects should be able to do so without being held up by those who - and this is their right - do not wish to go so fast."

In more detail, he made clear that a "two speed" Europe could come into effect as soon as January 2001 with Germany and France leading the way. He said: "I hope that from next year the pioneer group should be able to get down to better co-ordination of economic policy, a reinforcement of co-operation on defence and achieving greater efficiency in the fight against crime."

Such a group would probably comprise France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries - all of which have long been frustrated by vetoes of the more awkward member states.

The second important proposal was for a constitution for Europe that would once and for all define the relative powers of EU member states as against those of Brussels. Such a document, M Chirac explained, would help to make Europe more comprehensible to its citizens and politicians and easier to run. A core Europe of fast-integrating countries bound under a constitution, he insisted, did not amount to the creation of a European "superstate" or anything approximating to one.

He told 500 German MPs and dignitaries: "Neither you nor us envisage the creation of a European superstate which would substitute for our nations and mark the end of their existence as players in international life. Our nations are the source of our identity and roots. The diversity of their political, cultural and linguistic traditions make a [positive] force for our union. In coming times, nations will remain the main reference points for our people."

Last month, Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister, made a widely reported speech on the future of Europe in which he called for the formation of a European government representing an inner core of EU member states. They would deal with a narrow or "lean" range of policies best dealt with between nations.

Because Mr Fischer used the terms "European government" and "federation", he was seen as advocating fully-fledged political union - in effect the creation of one country. In fact Mr Fischer also insisted that nation states should remain inside and alongside the "European government". It would be "irresponsible" to trample on national sovereignty and traditions in such a way. Mr Fischer said: "Only if European integration takes the nation states along with it into a federation will such a project be workable."

Although some differences remain between France and Germany on detail and timing, they are now a hair's breadth apart as far as the EU's next step is concerned. Both want the EU to agree an extension of qualified majority voting in Nice in December to prepare for expansion. Both want a constitution for Europe and a new round of institutional reform in about 2004.

While Paris and Berlin may not have always seen eye to eye on how to advance the European project, yesterday's speech by M Chirac shows how reports of the breakdown of their relationship were very premature.